Core Funding Fee Management Conditions

Core Funding Partner Services must follow Fee Management conditions.

These rules are explained outlined fully in the Agreement for the Provision of Core Funding, but a summary of the rules is provided below.

Partner Services agree not to increase the fees charged to parents, for the same level of provision above what was charged on 30 September 2021. If the Partner Service was not in existence on 30 September 2021, they cannot increase fees charged to parents above the level they were when they first joined Core Funding.

The exception to these rules is services who have been approved by the Department to increase their fees through the Fee Increase Assessment (FIA) process.

If a Partner Services wishes to change their offerings they may do so, but there are rules on how they can change their fees when this happens. Partner Services who make changes to their offerings must follow the proportionality rules below.

Proportionality Rules

If a Partner Service increases the hours they offer within a session, they can increase the fees charged to parents by the same percentage they have increased their hours. For example if a service had a full time offer of 40 hours per week, and charged parents €100, and then increased the offer to 50 hours per week they have increased their hours by 25%, so their fees can increase by 25% to €125 per week. The Partner Services does not have to increase by 25%, but they cannot increase by more, they may choose to charge parents €120 for the 50 hours per week.

Similarly, if a Partner Service would like to decrease the hours they offer within a session, they must decrease the fees charged to parents by at least the same percentage they have decreased the hours. For example, if a service had a full time offer of 50 hours per week and charged parents €100, and decrease their offer to 40 hours per week, they will have decreased their hours by 20%, so their fees must decrease by at least 20% to €80. The Partner Service can decrease their fees by more than 20%, but fees charged must decrease by at least this amount.

Some Partner services may have changed their offerings completely since September 2021. The same rules on proportionality apply. For example, if a service was previously only offering only part-time care of 20 hours per week at a cost of €50 and would like to introduce a full-time session for 40 hours per week, they can, but they must not charge more than €100.

If a service would like to offer a new session type, e.g., to a new age range, the fee cannot be more than the closest equivalent fee on 30 September 2021, or the date the service first signed up to Core Funding

If a provider was an ECCE only service and would like to expand to include the additional 30minutes, part-time or full-time care they can, so long as they follow the rules on proportionality. However, as these services do not charge parents because ECCE is free at the point of use, the rule son proportionality are based on the “Fee Excluding ECCE” column on their Fee List. If the service has declared nothing in the “Fee Excluding ECCE” column or listed a fee below the standard capitation rate (€69), can use €69 for 15 hours of care as their base for proportionality.

The fee freeze, and the above fee management conditions remain in place for the majority of these services for year 3 of Core Funding, however, services whose fees have been frozen at a level that may not be sufficient to sustain their business even with increased funding available through Core Funding had the opportunity to apply for a Fee Increase Assessment.

The Department will also issue a letter to Partner Services who have been approved for a fee increase. This letter will include the new maximum fee which can be charged by the service and the date this is effective from. The service cannot request parents to pay this increased fee prior to the date shown on the letter.

Incorporated Services

Some Partner Services may also offer incorporated services such as meals or transport.

If on 30 September 2021, or if on the date the service first joined Core Funding, the Partner Services offered an incorporated service as part of their offer, they must keep providing this service, or decrease their fees.

If a Partner Service would like to remove the below incorporated service, they must reduce their fees by a specified amount

• Meals – Fees must reduce by 10%

• Snacks – Fees must reduce by 5%

• Transport – Fees must reduce by the cost of the transport.

If a Partner Service would like to introduce a new service and charge for it such as meals, they may do so. However, this service must be genuinely optional to the parents/guardians.

Withdrawals

Core Funding is optional “opt-in” scheme.

If a provider chooses to not sign up to Core Funding or withdraw from the scheme Core Funding, they, as private businesses, can operate outside the scheme, and are not bound by the scheme’s conditions such as the fee management conditions.

If a Partner Services wishes to withdraw from the Core Funding Programme, they can do so by submitting a Service Request on the Early Years Hive outlining the withdrawal date and the reason for the withdrawal.

A Partner Service may re-apply after a withdrawal; however, they cannot increase their Base Rate on the new application.